FIBER SOCIETY
fall meeting 2024 october 23rd – 25th
Mulhouse and the textile history
The epic of the textile industry in Mulhouse began in 1746, and it was during the 18th century that printing contributed to the city’s rise. Mulhouse and Alsace became, in the following century, the world leaders in the printed fabric market!
The history started with the development of Indian fabrics. Arriving in Europe at the end of the 16th century, these cotton fabrics seduce with their rich and fresh designs. This finesse of execution, linked to the technique of printing by wooden boards and then copper rollers, decides Mulhouse, as early as 1746, to engage in the manufacturing of these sumptuous fabrics. Later, the advent of roller machines radically transforms the textile industry. It is closely followed by the development of chemistry, which provides industrialists with a new world: synthetic dyes.
This period was accompanied by the development of textile machinery in general for fabric manufacturing purpose. One main actor in that period of time was the DMC company established in 1746 (still active today with the embroidery yarn manufacturing, see Figure).
It was in 1833 that Mulhouse textile manufacturers began to safeguard their creations that can be found today at the Museum of Printed Fabrics. Better yet, they searched the world and the eras for something to enrich their collection. The objective, at first, was to provide sources of inspiration to the industrialists. In fact, that is still the case today. The collection now has 6 million samples and 50,000 textile documents!”
https://www.tourisme-mulhouse.com/en/experiences/museum-of-printed-fabrics/
Preliminary FS program
Further information can be found on following link Planning FIBER 2024
Call for submissions
https://www.thefibersociety.org/
How to get there ?
The FS Université de Haute Alsace venue can be reached by public transportation from the Mulhouse railway station or by car. Further information can be found on : Venues_directions
Accomodation
Tourist Must-see places
Automotive Museum – https://www.musee-automobile.fr/
Museum of Printed Fabrics – https://www.musee-impression.com/
Train Museum – https://www.citedutrain.com/
Electropolis – https://www.musee-electropolis.fr/
Ecomuseum – https://www.ecomusee.alsace/